The Frontier For Love
by tricia c
Summary: Ash has completed the Sinnoh League and is going on a new adventure in the Sinnoh Battle Frontier! What happens when his crush - Dawn - decides on joining him? Pearlshipping! Ash/Dawn. Enjoy!
1. The Famous Island!

**Hello. This is my first Pearlshipping fanfic and I hope many of you Pearlshippers will enjoy it! This is chapter 1 of 'The Frontier of Love'. Remember! R&R~! On with the fic!**

**EDITED: This chapter has been fixed of mistakes and edited. I hope you all enjoy! :D  
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****.:Chapter 1:.**

_The Famous Island!_

It was a calm and cool night in the oceans of the Sinnoh region. A decent sized boat was making its way through the ice-covered waters as the chilled air breezed through the hallways of the ship's corridors. Inside, there were many rooms for passengers to rest and get ready for their destination. Everyone was sound asleep, awaiting the next day for their arrival to a new battle island known as the Sinnoh Battle Frontier.

One passenger, however, was not in the same condition as all the rest of the people on board. This particular person had raven-black hair that was spiky and messy on his head. The messiness, was, and always will be, perfect in its own way. He had a black vest with a yellow V-shaped line across the chest - which was currently taken off - blue jeans and a red cap bestowed upon his head. His name was Ash Ketchum.

Ash was lying on his bed next to his trusty partner, Pikachu, who was sleeping soundly, tucked in a ball and having peaceful dreams of future adventures with his Trainer, Ash. Ash, however, wasn't as carefree as Pikachu right now. He had something - or rather, someone - on his mind.

_'I wish she was here with me right now... It feels weird to start a new adventure without her by my side,' _He thought as he slowly got up, making sure to not wake up Pikachu, and quietly closed the door behind him as he started to walk down the hallways. He decided he needed some badly needed fresh air after not getting any sleep on the count of him always thinking about a certain Blue-haired coordinator.

Who is this person that keeps on troubling Ash's thoughts, you ask? Why, she's Ash's most beloved human friend up to date, and her name was Dawn. Dawn Berlitz, to be exact. Dawn was a traveling partner of Ash's who, in his thoughts, was something more than a friend or travel partner. She had blue hair that was styled with two yellow clips on both sides of her head. She wore a black, sleeveless vest that revealed a small portion of the undershirt on her chest. She had a pink miniskirt and pink matching go-go boots and black stockings underneath. To top it all off, was her trademark white beanie on her head that had a pink Pokéball logo stitched on it. She was Ash's crush. That was a fact all the way to back when they first met. He always thought she was cute and funny and an overall, sweet person. She was perfect in his eyes. "Man, if only she didn't leave on her own... Why am I feeling this way?" he mumbled to himself as he made it to the ships deck.

He oversaw the beautiful moon that cast a luminous glow over the icy waters that is slowly going under him as the ship is getting closer to the island. You see, Ash has long since beaten the Sinnoh League. It was the most joyous occasion that he, Dawn, and Brock experienced. Ash smiled to himself as a memory of the day he won came up.

_.:Flashback:._

"_It's almost the end for Ash as his last Pokemon, Pikachu, is trying to regain energy after taking a massive blow from Electivire's Thunderpunch!" boomed the announcer as Paul just smirked at the small electric Pokemon. Ash had a look of worry on his face as Pikachu was slowly raising to his feet, trying to stay strong._

_Ash thought it was the end, when a familiar voice rung out from the stands. "You can do it, Ash! You too, Pikachu! I know you can!" Ash looked up to the stands and saw none other than Dawn. She gave Ash one of her trademark smiles and mouthed to him 'No need to worry' before she sat back down. Ash suddenly felt a need to win this battle. Not just for himself, but for Dawn, too._

"_Okay, Pikachu! We cannot give up! We've worked so hard for this moment, and we've been through together for better or for worse! We cannot let it end like this! Are you with me?" he bellowed to his Pokemon, making sure he heard all of it. Pikachu, as if on cue, immediately hopped up onto his feet and shouted back a reassuring "Pikachu!" back to his trainer, who already knows by now what Pikachu said. "Alright, let's get it started for real this time! Use Quick Attack!"_

_Pikachu started to run into the direction of the tired out Electivire. His speed increasing with every cheer coming from the crowd, Dawn, Buneary, and Brock. He is not the only one feeling this emotion of 'love' coming from his friends. Ash has found a new light in not giving up, thanks to Dawn who has backed him up all the way through Sinnoh._

"_Electivire, use Thunderpunch again!" Paul commanded to his Pokemon. Electivire charged up energy from all within it's body into this one last punch. He started running forward towards Pikachu, who was still keeping target with his Quick Attack._

_Ash then gave Paul a smirk that said 'I got you now'. Ash decided that now was his time to put his plan into action. "Alright, Pikachu! Keep using Quick Attack and form it into a Volt Tackle!" He shouted out. This caused an uproar from the crowd as they thought he was risking his Pokemon's health, charging towards the Thunderpunch. Dawn knew, however, what Ash was planning. After all, she did teach him the technique. She blushed slightly and smiled at the thought of Ash using her move in one of the most important Sinnoh battles in his journey._

_When Pikachu was in close range of Electivire, Ash shouted "Alright, Pikachu! Now spin it!" this caused Paul to do a double-take as he wasn't expecting this at all. Pikachu jumped right above Electivire's punch and spun around it, easily avoiding - and getting past - Electivire. "Now Pikachu, continue your Volt Tackle, bounce back around, and use Iron Tail at the same time!" Ash commanded to his partner. Electivire was in a state of confusion and couldn't get it's act together, blocking out the sound of it's trainer telling it to dodge. It was too late for Electivire as the blow from Pikachu's attack had made its mark. There was a moment of silence as Electivire got down to it's knees and fainted, leaving the perfectly fine Pikachu as the winner._

"_Wha... W-We won?!" Ash studdered out as the whole stadium broke out in screams of admiration, yells, hollers, cheers, and fans applauding his success. While he was caught up in the moment of realizing that he won, a pair of hands wrapped themselves around his waist. "What the- Dawn?" Ash asked as he found himself turning scarlet red and in a small and quick hug with Dawn, which ended quickly, much to his dismay._

_Dawn let go and got back into a standing position with a little tinge of pink on her cheeks as she looked at Ash with happiness clear in her voice. "Congratulations, Ash! You beat Paul! I'm so happy for you!" she piped as Brock came up beside her with an overly joyful smile on his face as well._

_Brock reached out his hand as Ash did the same with his and the two long-time friends shook hands. "Wow, Ash. That was the most exciting battle I've ever watched you do. I'm so proud of you for beating the Sinnoh League!" he said as he and Ash finished the handshake. After his friends' congratulations, a short, elderly man came up to Ash with the large and glamorous trophy in his hands. Ash just looked at it with pride and happiness as tears started to form in his eyes._

_The old man held out the cup to Ash and said, "Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, we of the Sinnoh Pokemon League hereby award you the Sinnoh Champ Trophy of Honor! All of your Pokemon's hard work has payed off in this memorable event and it seems that you got all that you wanted in return. Here you go, young lad," He then proceeded to give Ash the trophy marking that Ash has completed his goal in conquering the Sinnoh League. _

_.:End Flashback:._

_'If it weren't for Dawn back there, my Pokemon and I would've lost for sure...' _Ash reminded himself. Not only did he wish Dawn was with him, he also wished Brock was here, too. '_Brock would be able to help me with my feelings for Dawn... But, he's with his family and taking care of the Gym. It's his duty to make sure that family comes first.' _Ash sighed as he also remembered of the good thing of this new journey. "Heh. At least Team Rocket are no longer following me. I always new James would become a Trainer and Jesse would become a coordinator with Meowth tagging along. They kinda remind me of Dawn and I..." Ash said, mostly to himself as his sad mood of not being with Dawn kicked back in. "Oh well, can't do much about it now. I wonder where she is now..." he mumbled as he got back to his room, carefully moved Pikachu to the side of his pillow, and got into bed waiting for morning to come.

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In a room at a Pokemon Center not too far away, a girl with beautiful blue eyes was just finishing her last thoughts of the night before falling asleep with her partner Piplup next to her with the words "I wonder where he is now..." still swimming around in her head.

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**Eh, I feel this was too short for my taste. Oh well! That's how I roll. Please, R&R! (Many reviews will keep me up and running! ^_^) Thanks!**


	2. New Looks?

**Thanks to all of you who reviewed. I greatly appreciate it! (Hopefully this chappie will be longer than the last one.) Eh, I decided to not name the chapters. It'll be much easier on me if I just wrote them out. Enjoy!^^**

**EDITED: Edited version... kinda. ^^ Not much difference for this one... Enjoy!  
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**.:Chapter 2:.**

_New Looks?_

Ash woke up in freezing temperatures the next morning. The boat was only five minutes away from reaching their destination from what he heard over the speakers. He got up and started to shiver due to the coldness. "Brrr! W-Wow, P-Pi-Pikachu. It's fr-freezing!" Ash chattered to his trusty companion who woke up as well. Pikachu was still a little drowsy from having to wake up so early in the morning. As soon as Pikachu lifted his head, he shivered, too. He let out a small squeal and hid under the covers.

Ash smiled in amusement as Pikachu did this. "Oh, yeah... I think Mom left me something to wear for the cold weather. She kept on saying 'It's cold in the Sinnoh region nowadays. You could catch a terrible cold!' " Ash recited, looking through his new, white backpack his mom gave him as well. "Aha! Here it is!" Ash slid the dark blue jacket around him which had the collar turned up and put on some new, warm black pants. "Well, Pikachu? What do you think?" he questioned as he turned around to show off to Pikachu.

Ash sweat dropped as he saw Pikachu rummaging through Ash's bag looking for something to throw on himself to protect him from the cold.

"You know, Pikachu. It'll only be cold for now because we're out in the ocean. When we get to land, everything would be just fine for you," he said to reassure his Pokemon.

"Pika..." Pikachu slumped on the pillow and pulled the covers over his head, waiting for the ship to get to the island already. Ash then remembered his thoughts of the night before. He frowned slightly remembering his feelings for Dawn and was still quite down from here departure to the group.

Ash let out a depressing sigh and sat back down on the edge of the bed, waiting with Pikachu for the boat to stop. Pikachu looked up from under the covers to see what was wrong with his trainer. "Pika?" Pikachu questioned Ash. Ash just looked at him with Dawn's 'no need to worry' smile and proceeded to scratch the back of Pikachu's ear. Pikachu let out a squeal of content and went back down under the covers to continue his sleeping.

...

Ash was snapped out of his thoughts as the ship started to slow down, indicating that they've arrived to the Battle Frontier.

"Attention passengers," the speakers announced. "We have made it to Sinnoh's Battle Frontier and we advise for everyone to depart in an orderly fashion."

Ash went over to the nightstand to get his trademark Pokemon baseball cap and put it on, feeling confidence in himself. He slipped on his shoes and backpack and pulled off the covers. "Get up, Pikachu! We've made it!" he said with enthusiasm in his voice. Pikachu, as if sensing his trainer's enthusiasm, perked his ears and let out a dignifying 'Pika!' and jumped on Ash's shoulder with a fist pumped in the air.

"All right! Let's get this show on the road and conquer the Battle Frontier!" Ash pumped his fist in the air as well and dashed out the room's door. _'I can't wait to get there!'_ He thought as the light of the dock was coming into view. He jumped out and landed on the deck. He looked ahead and was amazed at what he saw.

The first facility of the large frontier that Ash saw was the Battle Castle. It was a large building that emanated the feeling of elegance and power. The structure looked much what it's name implies; a castle. It had tall, large pillars on both sides of the building and was colored mostly in gold and turquoise. The outer walls glimmered as to show off the expensiveness – and adequateness – of the building's design. There were small flags perched on top of said pillars that fluttered in the wind gracefully. It was a beautiful building indeed. You could see trainers going in and out of the facility, seeing if they could challenge the castle Frontier Brain.

Around the area was the view and feeling of an island resort as there were tropical trees and lush forests surrounding the area. The pavement was of a reddish color and many trainers and coordinators alike were enjoying their time on the island.

Ash's jaw was hanging for the past five minutes before Pikachu snapped him back to reality with a certain, signature electric attack...

"Ow..." It seems that Pikachu's plan worked perfectly as Ash's face showed slight pain and annoyance while Pikachu's showed fake innocence and obliviousness. "Oh, you'll pay for that Pikachu...some day..." he muttered under his breath.

Pikachu just smiled at him and ran off ahead of him...leaving Ash cursing to himself.

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Dawn woke up to the morning's rays in her eyes. She smiled ever so slightly and got up from where she was sleeping next to Piplup, who was a small blue penguin with short, stubby feet with blue flippers and a yellow beak, and made for the bathroom to get ready for the day. Piplup also woke up and decided to go in with her to take a warm and relaxing shower to freshen himself up and get ready for the chilly weather outside.

Dawn was on the island of the Sinnoh Battle Frontier and wanted to try out the island's facilities. She heard stories from Ash's friends saying how he was able to defeat all seven facilities in the Kanto region. This inspired Dawn, as she wanted to try something else other than contests. She decided to take after her mentor and inspiration and try to conquer the Frontier.

"Hmm.... Maybe today I'll start things off by challenging the Battle Castle... What do you say, Piplup?" Dawn questioned her partner Pokemon, Piplup. Piplup just nodded his head in agreement as he was relaxing under the warm feel of the shower head. Dawn already took a bath the night before and was just fixing her bed-head. She then started to ponder about her feelings for a certain raven-haired boy and his Pikachu. _'Maybe he already started a new adventure with some new friends...' _She internally sighed and tried to not look depressed in front of Piplup. The last thing she needed was her Pokemon worrying about her.

After being completely satisfied with her hair, she reached into her new, white bag and pulled out her usual outfit she wore when she traveled. After putting it on, she took out the extra pieces her mom packed for her. _'You're a lifesaver, mom,' _Dawn thought as she remembered how the weather was when she first got on the island with out first putting on her sweater. It was freezing to the bone with the skirt and short sleeved clothing she had on.

Walking out of the bathroom with Piplup next to her, Dawn was now wearing a hot-pink colored coat over her usual attire. It had large buttons on the front and the end of her sleeves and reached to the point where her skirt ended. On her wrist was a brand new, recently modeled Poketch she got as a prize from a winning lottery ticket from the Poketch company a while back. She also had warmer pink boots with longer, white stockings underneath. On order to match her new clothes, Dawn decided to replace her yellow berets with pink ones. And, to top it all off, she put on her mom's hand woven, extra fluffy scarf that was a gift from her for winning the Grand Festival.

"Well, Piplup! It's time to go!" she exclaimed, pointing towards their new journey.

"Piplup!" Piplup happily responded raising his wing in the air, excitement building inside him.

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**Yeah, I know. Ash and Dawn haven't met up yet.^^ I promise they'll meet up in the next chapter! I'm counting on it! With some cute scenes, too! ^w^**

**Also, I've got this feeling that my chapters are short.... If they feel short, would you kind reviewers be kind enough to tell me? It would mean a lot. ;_; Pretty please?**

**Please, R&R! Any criticism is welcomed! Like I said, it'll keep me up and running. =)**


	3. Saying Hello! a Second Time

**Ok, I'm real sorry for not updating lately.... It's just that I'm a procrastinator. XD I get real lazy real fast and tend to forget about my fics.... So, anyway, here's Ch. 3!**

**ShadowVulpine: I know what Lagomorphshipping is. n_n I was planning on adding it in here as well! =) -hugs-**

**hailme786: Wow! Thank you for your review! I hope you do review every chapter. ^^ I'll be seeing you in the near future! -hugs-**

**Also, hugs for all of you kind reviewers for... well, reviewing! :3 -hugs-**

**Disclaimer: Crap... I forgot the disclaimer for the last 2 chapters... I don't own anything. **

**EDITED: Yup. I edited this chapter as well. xD You'll probably see the differences, a few here and there. Enjoy!**

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****.:Chapter 3:.**

_Saying "Hello!" a Second Time_

Ash was running at top speed, chasing after the sly Pikachu that got out of his grasp.

"Get back here, Pikachu!" he semi-laughed out. Pikachu was running to the castle that was off in the distance and started to slow down due to speed differences between him and his trainer.

Ash caught up and bended over because of his exhaustiveness from running. "Jeez... Pikachu... you're fast," he said in between pants before sitting down to take a breather. When he was finally able to speak with ease again, he said, " Alright, Pikachu! Let's go to the Battle Castle right now! That little exercise you gave me brought the spirit inside me back to life and now, it wants to battle!" He said, raising is fist in the air. Ash then started running ahead of Pikachu towards the Battle Castle.

Pikachu decided to let Ash take the lead this time. He knew that he can beat his trainer any day when it came to running. But, he suddenly changed his mind after he faintly heard his trainer yell something from ahead of him.

"Last one there's a Stunky...!" Ash yelled over his shoulder as the sound faded the farther he ran.

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Dawn was jogging ahead with her partner, Piplup, waddling right beside her. She looked down and fondly smiled at her first Pokemon giving enthusiasm towards getting to the Battle Castle. Soon, she would be there...

Running along the island's dock made her more excited and energetic, loving the scent of the ocean wafting through her nose. She always loved the ocean – and water types. It always relaxed her when she felt nervous or tensed. Dawn slowed down her pace as her thoughts wandered off to a memory she had when she was still traveling with Ash and Brock...

_.:Flashback:._

_It was the day before her Grand Festival performance and Dawn wasn't really feeling like her perky, usual self. Looking at her set of five ribbons and her mom's treasured ribbon, she didn't know if this was enough for her to compete. _

_Dawn was standing on the railing of Lake Valor due to the fact that the Grand Festival was being held were the last Wallace Cup took place. She was looking at her reflection through the water and allowing the breeze to let her hair flow a little. She didn't mind. As long as the smell of the lake's water took her away from her anxiety, everything around her didn't really matter. Thinking back to all her victories and losses, she wonders '_Do I deserve to be here?'._ Often she'd console to her Pokemon for help before a very nerve-racking contest, contest battle, or appeal. But, this time, she didn't want her Pokemon to feel the pressure of knowing that their trainer is feeling more scared than usual._

_Looking up, she saw the reflection of the moon mirroring off the lake's surface, casting a beautiful blue glow around her. She felt... relaxed being here. Like there's nothing to be afraid of. Suddenly, she felt her face getting wet. _'A-am I... crying?'_ she thought to herself as realization hit her – she was crying. Dawn put her hands to her face and started sobbing quietly. _

'Why am I crying? I-I should stay strong! ...But...'_ She couldn't complete her thought as a familiar voice came from behind her. _

"_Dawn?" _

_Dawn turned around when she heard the voice. "A-A-Ash! W-what are y-you doing here?" she stammered, trying to hide her crying. She failed._

"_Why are you crying? Are you hurt? Do you have something in your eye?" he asked in a worried tone. Dawn flinched at his denseness for not noticing her insecurity earlier. _

_Dawn quickly dried her eyes and smiled at him. "Y-yeah. It's just some dirt..." she mumbled with a touch of sadness in her voice._

_Ash looked at her, trying to figure her out. Dawn had red puffy eyes, indicating that it was something more than a piece of dirt in them. Her eyes were downcast with worry swimming in them. She really _was_ crying. _

_Ash reached out and pulled her into a hug. Dawn was taken back by this and only managed to stutter out, " W-w-w-what are you doing?" while blushing furiously._

"_No need to worry, Dawn. If you're feeling worried about the Grand Festival, don't. You've got all of us with you here to cheer you on! If anyone should feel worried here, it's those other contestants." Ash whispered to her with a bit of redness on his cheek for hugging a _girl_. Hugging _Dawn_ to be exact._

_Dawn was speechless. There they were, two people, _hugging close to each other_ in front of a beautiful lake. Dawn returned the hug quickly before letting go. For a second, Ash's face showed loss before quickly turning into a confident grin. Dawn blushed after noticing the close proximity of their faces; " Th-thanks, Ash! You really gave me confidence to do great in the Grand Festival. I know that with you – and Brock as well as the rest of the Pokemon - everything is going to be alright for me," She then put on her 'no need to worry' smile and proceeded to walk back to the Pokemon Center with Ash next to her._

_::End Flashback::_

She let out a sigh, wishing to be with Ash, when she noticed that she was close to the Battle Castle. Her face changed to delight as she decided to pick up the pace and start running. Piplup was running as fast as he could alongside her, trying to not be left back.

"Look, Piplup! We're almost there!" Dawn happily cheered as the doors were to her right side in a close distance.

"Piplup!"

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"Alright, Pikachu! All we have to do is turn around this corner and-"

_Crash!_

"..Ow... What hit me...?" Ash said while trying to figure out what just happened. He remembered running, turning the corner, and crashed into something that was a reddish pink blur, and fell to the ground...

Ash looked up only to see a face full of shock mirror his. She had a familiar white beanie on and familiar blue hair put in a familiar hair style. Alongside her was a all-to familiar Piplup with the look of sheer joy as he recognized Ash and Pikachu.

"Ash?!" Dawn shrieked in both shock and surprise, and with joy inside her.

"...Dawn?" Ash managed to reply as he was still dumbfounded as to why Dawn was there.

"Oh, Ash! I had no idea you were here! Come here, you!" Without warning, she got down to her knees and hugged the very embarrassed Ash. His face must have had fifty different shades of red and nearly fainted from how tightly she was hugging him. What made it more awkward was the fact that she knocked him down in the process and now, she had him in a tight hug with her on top of him. He could faintly hear the snickers of the passing trainers and from Pikachu and Piplup...

"U-Uhh, D-Dawn?" Ash stammered, noticing how much attention they're getting. "I think you can let go of me now..." As much as he loved her hugging him, he could feel himself getting ready to pass out. Dawn got off of him and had a very red face with an embarrassed expression as well.

"S-sorry," she said. As quickly after she said that, her face showed absolute happiness. "Wow, Ash! I can't believe you're here! Are you here for the Battle facilities, too?" she asked in wonder, wanting to know what the boy of her dreams is doing at the same island she was.

Ash then remembered that she was talking to him as his brain was still processing all that happened. He was still staring at Dawn, who seemed to be waiting for something. Then he realized that she was talking to him. "Uh...I-I'm sorry! Come again?" he said in embarrassment for staring at Dawn AND not noticing when she was talking to him.

"Oh, Ash. You can be so dense sometimes!" she said with a giggle. Ash's face reddened even more as she said this. "I asked you why you're here. Are you going to the facilities here, too?"

"Oh! Yeah, that's why I'm here," Ash said proudly and confidently. "Wait, why did you say, 'too'?"

Dawn giggled again. "Well, that's the reason why I'm here as well. I'm going to complete the Battle Frontier, too," she said with a confident smile. Ash's face showed surprise as he found out Dawn's intentions for being at the Battle Frontier.

"Really?! That's great, Dawn!" Ash replied. Pikachu and Piplup chose this time to jump up in their trainer's arms and say hi to their traveling partners again.

"Piplup!" Piplup chirped to Ash, holding out his fin.

"Great to see you, too, Piplup!" Ash greeted, taking in Piplup's fin in his own hand to shake. "Are you driving Dawn crazy again? It looks like it, hehe." Ash said teasingly. Piplup blushed a little and turned his head a different way, giving a little pout.

Pikachu took this time to jump onto Dawn's shoulder and rub against her cheek affectionately. "Pika~!" Pikachu squealed in delight to see his master's crush again. Dawn only giggled and scratched his head in reply.

"I missed you, too, Pikachu," she said. Suddenly, she remembered something. "Oh! Pikachu, do you want to see someone who's been _dying_ to see you again?" Dawn said with a smirk and pulled out a Pokeball.

"Pika?" Before Pikachu could even guess who it was, an over excited Buneary ran (or hopped) up to him and pulled him into a loving hug. Buneary cried tears of joy as Pikachu blushed in embarrassment, now knowing the feeling Ash had when Dawn grabbed _him_ into a hug.

Ash and Dawn looked at their Pokemon in amusement as Piplup was having a snickering fit in Dawn's arms.

"So," Ash said, trying to muster up some words to get Dawn's attention. Dawn immediately focused her whole attention on him to see what's he going to say. "you want to go in the Battle Castle with me to try and earn our first seal? After all, we're going to travel together again, right?" Ash asked with a hopeful tone behind his voice.

Dawn's face lit up at the offer an just couldn't say no. "Of course we're going to travel together, Ash! Why wouldn't we?"

Ash put on the biggest grin he's made since he won the Sinnoh League and agreed with her. They walked in, side-by-side with their Pokemon into the Battle Castle where they are going for their first Commemorative Seal, together.

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**Well, there you have it! Ash and Dawn have officially met up with each other. -cheers!- **

**I felt this chappie was way longer than my last 2. Yay! =]**

**I hope you guys review! Hopefully, I get as much as 10 reviews (or at least). That's kinda my goal. ^^; I don't mind if my goal doesn't reach that, though. Please, R&R! :3 See ya guys (and gals) next chapter! ;D**


	4. Dawn's Frontier Debut!

**Um... Hi guys. ^^;; Sorry for the reaaaally long wait. D: It's a little something called laziness. I've been too caught up in reading fics than writing my own, to compensate for the long wait, I give you chapter 4! And as a bonus, it's longer than the first 3! Huzzah! Now, on with chapter 4!**

**NOTE: I've decided to give the chapters names. xD Also, I've cleaned up the first 3 chapters a bit since I didn't really like how it was spaced and organized... yeah. I'll stop my rant now. XD**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon and all it's glory!  
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**EDITED: This chapter NEEDED loads of editing, since I felt this chapter wasn't as good as the last ones. So, here it is! The edited version! :D Plus, I felt that the second half of it was way better than the first half. ^^; I also changed the title a bit to "The Frontier _For_ Love" since I like it like that better. xD Anyway, enjoy this better version! **

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**.:Chapter 4:.**

_Dawn's Frontier Debut!_

Ash and Dawn walked in the Battle Castle to see if they could get the chance to battle the Castle Brain. They approached the front desk to find a woman with a burgundy cap and matching burgundy attire. She had soft blue eyes and shiny copper-brown hair. To her left was a gentleman who appeared to have been the same age as her. His attire was similar to the woman's, only green and less feminine. He also had a green cap that covered his smooth, golden-brown hair, his green eyes spotting the pair entering the building.

"Hello, how may we help you two today?" the woman asked politely. Ash glanced at Dawn, then back to the woman.

"Hi, we'd like to challenge the brain of this facility," Ash replied. The woman just turned to the man next to her, shared a few words with him, and turned back to Ash and Dawn.

"Would you like to form a Tag Team together, or take the challenge separately?" she asked them. Ash looked at Dawn, asking her which she'd prefer. Dawn chose to battle separately since this was their first facility. The woman just nodded, checked her computer, and had an apologetic look on her face.

"I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait a bit till later because there are a few challengers before you," she said with sorrow in her voice. "But if you'd like, I could schedule you for later. Would you like that?"

Ash was disappointed, but just decided to just agree; not before asking Dawn, of course.

"Dawn, what do you think?" he asked, turning his head to face her.

"Well," she started, "I don't mind. We could use some catching up anyway." she added with a heartwarming smile towards him. Ash blushed a little, but turned away before she could notice.

"O-okay. I guess we'll just wait here in the lobby until later," he stuttered. The attendant nodded, and giggled before registering their names on the computer.

"Oh! By the way," she bent down below the counter and brought out two devices. One blue and the other pink. "Since you two are just beginning, here are your Battle Recorders! They hold your Seals that you earn here and record battles in each of the facilities!" she chirped.

Ash and Dawn reached for them and examined them before putting them away and heading into the lobby where trainers waited for their battle. Pikachu was sitting on Ash's lap while Buneary was petting him with her ear, causing him to blush. Piplup was snuggling on Dawn's lap while she was talking to Ash.

"So, Ash," she began. Ash turned his attention onto her, all the while trying not to get lost in her mesmerizing eyes. "what Pokémon do you have with you?" she questioned with an innocent face on.

Ash gulped a little at her face and stood up, his hands reaching for his Pokéball belt. "Well, Dawn, I'll just show ya!" He then threw three Pokéballs in the air which burst open, the light materializing into different shapes and forms.

The first one to come out was Buizel. Buizel was a weasel Pokémon with orange skin, a tail that split into two at the tip, and a flotation sack around his neck. He had black markings under his eyes and a matching colored nose. He had his arms crossed, creating a 'tough guy' exterior while calling out his name.

The second Pokémon to materialize out the Pokéballs was Monferno. Monferno was a monkey-specie Pokémon, slightly taller than Buizel was and nearly the same skin color. He had blue skin above his eyes and red in between them, white fur around his neck, and yellow rings on and around his upper arms. He also had a long tail with a lively fire burning at the tip.

The third and final Pokémon to come out was Ash's first Sinnoh Pokémon; Staraptor. This large bird Pokémon had furry feathers on it's head that was colored red at the end and a black-tipped beak. It's color was mainly of a dark brown with white stripes across it's chest.

"Oh, wow, Ash! It's great to see them again!" Dawn exclaimed with glee as she hugged his Pokémon, glad to see them again. Ash couldn't help but smile at the site of his Pokémon so happy to see Dawn again. After a while of Dawn and the Pokémon re-introducing themselves, Ash asked Dawn if she brought any other Pokémon besides Piplup and Buneary. Dawn nodded in response, took out her single Pokéball left. She threw it in the air to reveal...

"Ambipom!" the purple monkey cried upon entrance. Ambipom was, as previously described, a purple monkey, only with two tails that had large palms attached to them. She had two pieces of fur sticking out at the top of her head and two large ears. She was currently jumping with joy at the sight of her previous trainer and practically jumped on him.

"Woah! Calm down Ambipom! I missed you, too," he chuckled, trying to settle down the ecstatic Pokémon. Dawn was giggling at Ambipom's actions while Ash was laughing along with her. Then, a question formed in Ash's head. Dawn looked at Ash's, only to see he was confused about something. She tilted her head to the side, wondering what was up with the boy she loved.

"Hey, where are Mamoswine and Pachirisu?" he asked Dawn after the Pokémon left them to catch up with each other.

She raised an eyebrow at this; "Mamoswine didn't want to travel anymore. He felt that his job was done and 'retired' from traveling," Ash chuckled at her Pokémon's behavior and Dawn continued; "Pachirisu grew attached to my mom's Glameow and didn't want to leave. I think it sees Glameow as a mother figure." Dawn finished with an amused and loving smile. Ash nodded in understanding.

"So what about you? I don't see Grotle or Gliscor here," she asked, pointing out her observations. "What's the story behind that?"

"Huh? Oh, well, Grotle decided to stay at Oak's to train with my other grass-type Pokémon, while Gliscor wouldn't let go of my mom," he gave a sheepish laugh at the last part, which sounded ridiculous, and Dawn was imagined Gliscor attached to Delia's leg in her mind before laughing at how even Gliscor can be real innocent and cute.

A half an hour has passed since they arrived and slowly, the lobby started to get emptier. Ash and Dawn had spent this time discussing on what their friends have been up to. Dawn was informed that May started her contests in early Sinnoh (along with her rivals; Drew and Harley), Gary was researching Hoenn with the help of Max (who was excited to have met THE famous grandson of THE Professor Oak) all the while challenging gyms with his Pokémon, Tracey was back to being an official Pokémon watcher while still helping Prof. Oak at the Pallet lab, and Paul's whereabouts where unknown. Ash found out that Kenny was in Sinnoh, taking a break of contests and traveling all together, Zoey was in Johto aiming for the Grand Festival, and Barry was yet to be heard of as well.

By that time, their bodies have gotten much closer with out them noticing. They were currently watching their Pokemon play with amusement before turning their heads to each other. They immediately noticed how close their faces were and blushed a deep crimson, but neither of them showed any signs of moving away. They were too focused in each other's eyes, looking at the endless emotions that were swimming within them. Slowly, they leaned into each other without thinking, but before they got any further, they were interrupted by a woman's voice.

"Hey, you two!" the front desk attendant shouted, causing the two to realize what they were about to do. They blushed even deeper than before and quickly scooted away from each other before going to the front to see what the woman wanted with them. They recalled all their Pokémon (except for Pikachu and Piplup; the former perched on Ash's shoulder and the ladder in Dawn's arms) and walked ahead, avoiding the other's gaze, too embarrassed of their recent 'predicament'.

"Yes, ma'am?" Ash asked with false politeness, hiding his slight annoyance towards the woman for interrupting his and Dawn's 'almost' kiss.

"The frontier brain may see one of you now for your battle," she said while smiling. Ash and Dawn's attention perked at this, temporarily forgetting their recent awkwardness. But then they noticed she only said 'one of you'.

"One of us?" Dawn asked, wondering what the woman meant.

"You see, in regards of our brain, Lady Caitlin, she would like only one last battle for today before allowing the Pokémon to rest," she explained to the duo. Ash and Dawn looked at each other for a moment before Ash spoke up first.

"Would you like to go first, Dawn?" Ash offered, being courteous towards Dawn and being a gentleman. Dawn looked at him, startled, before asking if he was sure with it. He nodded, assuring her that he was fine with her going first and was willing to wait until the next day for his challenge.

"Okay, then," Dawn agreed with a confident smile. Ash grinned at her growing confidence. "Let's get this started."

* * *

Dawn was led to the battle field where her battle was to take place with Ash following behind her, marveling at the richly decorated room. The walls were painted a silver color that shone against the sun's rays seeping in through the window which had beautiful velvet drapes hanging on them. There was a large stand with a wide doorway for people to walk through with more beautiful drapes and an elegant chair perched above it with expensive looking cushioning on it. The stairs were of a golden color - matching nicely with the silver walls - and had pine wood hand rails attached to them with banners hanging from below them on the walls. The floor was similar and glittered with radiance, surrounding the battleground where Dawn was to have her battle. She walked over to the challenger's side of the field, waiting for the Castle Brain while Ash walked over with Pikachu to the stands to have a nice view of Dawn and the match. The referee then walked to the center side of the field.

A little while later, a young, frail-looking woman walked up to the chair above the doorway and sat down, observing Dawn and Piplup, who was on it's master's head right now. She had a pale, pink dress with a white covershirt on top. She had long, wavy, pale brunette hair with two large ribbons on both sides of her head. _'That must be Lady Caitlin,'_ Dawn thought, examining the lady through the corners of her eyes. _'Then who am I going to battle...?'_

Dawn's thoughts were soon answered as a man, a few years older than the Lady, came in through the large doorway. He had slick jet-black hair that was smoothed back with a long, yellow streak running through it. He wore glasses, a dark suit that consisted of sharp looking shoes and lavender pants, he also had snow-colored gloves on both hands with one hand holding a watch and the other one straight down his side. He approached the field at a steady and quick pace, making his way to the opposite side of Dawn; his challenger.

"Due to the fact that our own Lady Caitlin cannot battle for personal reasons, the challenger will battle the Lady's butler; Castle Valet Darach," the referee announced, his hand gesturing towards Darach, who was standing straight, looking firmly at Dawn. Piplup jumped down from Dawn's head to the ground, waiting to see who had the honor of sending out their Pokémon first.

"Ah, what a fine young lady we have here today," Darach said. "I shall send out my Pokémon first, if you don't mind."

Dawn was a bit uncomfortable with the way he was so formal. "Uh, sure, I guess," she said with nervousness. Darach nodded and proceeded with getting his first Pokéball and threw it in the air. The Pokéball opened and out revealed a Pokémon that Ash currently had; Staraptor.

"Staraptor!" it cried out upon appearance.

_'Staraptor, huh? Well, I know just who to use...' _Dawn then threw her own Pokéball in the field, "Go! Buneary!" she shouted before Buneary popped out of her ball.

"Bun Buneary!" Buneary called out to Pikachu, waving her arms trying to get Pikachu's attention. Pikachu sweat-dropped and waved back with his own cry, encouraging her. Buneary winked and turned back to Darach's Staraptor.

"I'll let you have the first move, Dawn," Darach said, gesturing for Dawn to start first. Dawn nodded and started the battle.

"Buneary! Use Ice Beam!" she ordered the bunny Pokémon. Buneary nodded and fired the ice-cold beam at the opponent, who just simply dodged it, without having an order called out from the opponent's side. Dawn's eyes widened a little as she found that his Pokémon were very well-trained. She then ordered another attack, "Buneary, use Bounce to get closer to it!"

Buneary did as ordered and bounced higher to Starapter, who was flying above the field at the moment.

"Staraptor, use Double Team," Darach ordered calmly. Suddenly, a whole row of Staraptors surrounded the poor bunny Pokémon, confusing it slightly.

"Buneary, use Ice Beam while spinning around!" Dawn called out. Buneary then shot Ice Beams around itself, destroying all the Staraptor illusions and shot the real one in a blink of an eye. "Yes!" Dawn exclaimed that her plan had worked. Although Staraptor is still up and awake, the Ice Beam lowered it's health greatly.

"Are you alright, Staraptor?" Darach asked with a slightly worried tone. When he got an assuring nod in return, he ordered an Aerial Ace to Buneary before she got to the ground; making her completely vulnerable. Staraptor rammed into Buneary, causing great pain to her. Buneary wearily stood back up, then strengthen it's stance, showing that she can still battle. Then a cheer came from the stands and Dawn smiled at her Pokémon's will to continue battling and her best friend's belief in her and her Pokémon before thanking Ash and Pikachu and proceeding in ordering the next attack.

Meanwhile, Ash was carefully observing the whole battle and Dawn way of battling. The way she has a passion for battling as well besides contests just made him adore the girl even more than before. _'She's doing awesome even though this isn't a contest battle,'_ he thought while staring as Dawn ordered her Buneary to do Ice Beam while spinning in mid-air. _'That combination has been our signature move ever since the Oreburgh gym... I wonder how she's able to make up these things? She's real amazing...' _Sighing, he observed the match even more, seeing Buneary get hit by an Aerial Ace attack. He and Pikachu flinched as Buneary slowly came back up, in pain, but still able to continue. "Alright, you can do it Dawn and Buneary!" Ash cheered while cupping his hand around his mouth and a fist in the air, to emphasize the cheer.

"Pikapi Pikachu!" Pikachu copied his trainer's movements and gave a cheer of his own.

"Thanks Ash, Pikachu!" Dawn called back, winking at them before turning back to the battle at hand. "Buneary, jump at it again!" She called to her Pokémon who started the jump.

"Again? You should know by know that's not going to work, little girl," Daarach said in an almost-cockily way. "Aerial Ace again, Staraptor!" he ordered. Staraptor started charging towards Buneary and was about to hit it when suddenly...

"Buneary, land on it's back!" Dawn shouted as the tables have turned. Buneary landed at the destination and held on to Staraptor, careful to not fall off. Staraptor was shocked and ended it's attacked. Darach was startled, too, but soon regained his posture.

"Try to shake her off, Staraptor!" he called. Staraptor tried to shake off Buneary, but to no avail.

"Buneary, Dizzy Punch it's back!" Dawn ordered, getting more pumped up in the battle. Buneary complied and started punching Staraptor with her glowing ears. Staraptor was crying out in pain and was slowly descending to the ground. After Buneary was sure that Staraptor was close enough to the ground, she jumped off, landing on the ground near Staraptor. Staraptor was starting to get up, but was stopped as Dawn ordered another move from Buneary, freezing it in it's place by the Ice Beam that knocked it out.

"Staraptor is unable to battle! The round goes to Buneary!" the referee said, raising his arm and flag to Dawn's side. Dawn broke out a large grin and held out her arms for Buneary to jump into, which she did.

"You did good out there, Staraptor. Return for some much needed rest," Darach whispered to the Pokéball that held his fainted bird Pokémon.

"Oh, Buneary! You did wonderful out there!" she praised to the bunny Pokémon as Buneary was cuddling Dawn by rubbing her face at the crook of Dawn's neck, causing the girl to giggle.

Ash cheered out loud from the stands and congratulated Dawn in knocking out the first Pokémon. "Alright, Dawn! That was great! Be careful, though. The next Pokémon might be tougher," he warned her, causing her to wink at him and giving him her usual 'No need to worry' phrase that he's grown fond of.

"I know to not be overconfident, Ash," she replied, going back to the stand where she previously was, not before giving Ash a quick hug, leaving the mentioned boy red as he sat back down. Dawn recalled Buneary to let her rest and called out Piplup for the next battle.

"Okay, m'lady, prepare yourself for my next Pokémon," Darach said to Dawn, enlarging his second Pokéball. Dawn gave him a look that said 'Bring it on' and he threw his Pokéball, bringing out...

"Empoleon!" the large penguin Pokémon cried. Empoleon was a large Pokémon that had wide flippers with yellow claws underneath. A crown-like mask covered most of it's face that was also attached to the beak. It had white spots on it's chest and yellow, webbed feet. It appeared to have an 'emperor' look, which complimented it's snobby attitude, or so Dawn thought.

Piplup heard Empoleon's cry and saw it as a challenge and waddled up to the emperor Pokémon, puffing up it's chest to try to appear larger and stronger. Empoleon just scoffed and knocked Piplup onto it's behind, causing the smaller penguin to shout at it and pout. Dawn had a large sweat-drop and face-palmed at her Pokémon's attitude. She heard Ash and Pikachu snickering in the background and walked over to Piplup, picking it up and walking back to her side of the field, lowered Piplup back on the ground, and told it that it would have to battle Empoleon. Piplup looked happy that it would be kicking the 'fat penguin's' butt in battle, which made Dawn sweat-drop even more. Sighing, Dawn went back to her spot and awaited for the match to begin.

* * *

**Eeeyup. I'm ending it here cuz if I go any further, it will be too long. D: So, the second part of the battle will be in chapter 5! 8D Yay!**

**Please review! ^^ I promise I won't hold back for the next chapter. D= I swear I'll make the next one quicker. In fact, I already started on it!  
**

**See ya! And remember: REVIEW!! (I'll get more pumped up into writing the next chapter ;D)  
**


	5. One Helluva Battle

**A/N: Another name chaaange. From XxGlacexX to Patori-chan. Why? 'Cuz I like it better that way. :P**

**Sorry for the long awaited update, guys. Don't worry; I have tons of excuses piled up over the months and I will start using them whenever I'm slow on an update. Hahahaha.**

**(RANT TIME:) Y'know what I hate? Whenever a writer "updates" only it to turn out to be an Author's Note. That's it. No writing on the actual story, just an A/N. What's the point? It only wastes chapter space. I'd rather explain things before/after a real chapter is done instead of bringing people's hopes up thinking that they've actually updated with a real chapter for a story. What the hell? Seriously, it's annoying... THERE'S ALSO CALLED PM'S AND A PROFILE FOR A REASON, PEOPLE. Just write your excuses there instead of making a chapter only for them... This rant isn't directed towards anyone specifically, by the way. To all Fic writers on FF. **

**/rant**

**Disclaimer: I will never, ever own the rights to Pokémon, their characters, or the setting. I'M NOT WORTHY. **

* * *

_.:Chapter 2:._

_One Helluva Battle_

"Round two of the battle between Dawn of Twinleaf Town and Castle Valet Darach will commence," the referee announced. "Ready... go!"

With that, Darach ordered the first move; "Empoleon, use Metal Claw,"

Empoleon reared up and it's flipper started to glow. It ran towards the determined Piplup and swiped at it; inflicting damage on the small penguin. Piplup cried out in pain as it slid back from the force of the Metal Claw. It stood back up and held it's ground, waiting for Dawn's orders.

Dawn was astounded with the emperor Pokémon's speed. She's never seen an Empoleon with great speed as Darach's. She focused back at the battle at hand and ordered her first move; "Piplup, use Drill Peck!"

Piplup complied and put it's energy in it's beak, making it glow white. He started running forward, pointing his beak towards Empoleon. Before Piplup was able to inflict damage, Empoleon managed to jump over him, causing the smaller penguin to look around, confused for a short moment. He then looked up, only for the force Empoleon's attack to meet his head, causing him to stumble around in a dizzy daze.

"Piplup! Are you alright?" Dawn asked her injured Pokémon in worry. Piplup got back into place and shook off the dizziness from Empoleon's Metal Claw. Apparently, Empoleon has had plenty experience in battle over the years. Piplup nodded back to Dawn, reassuring her. Dawn nodded back; "Okay, now use Bubblebeam!"

Piplup let loose a barrage of bubbles heading straight for Empoleon.

"Empoleon, use Waterfall," Darach ordered his Pokémon. Empoleon jumped on Piplup's many bubbles, soon turning them into a wave of water. It rode on it and sent it straight to Piplup, knocking him (Piplup) against the opposing wall, causing even more damage to the tiny Pokémon.

"Pip... lup," Piplup uttered out in exhaustion. Before Dawn could do anything, Piplup face-planted the ground, knocked out.

"Piplup is unable to battle, the round goes to Empoleon!" the referee called, raising his arm in Darach's direction.

"Oh, Piplup..." Dawn whispered, picking up her worn-out starter Pokémon. Piplup raised its flipper, trying to comfort her. Dawn gave him a small smile before pulling out Piplup's Pokéball, returning him in a flash of red light.

Ash was worried, to say the least, that Dawn's first ever Pokémon couldn't handle a battle against Darach's Empoleon. "Pika..." Pikachu uttered in sadness to see his best Pokéfriend fall before his higher evolution.

Dawn thought carefully on what to do; _'Empoleon is a speedy Pokémon alright...' _She pulled out her next Pokéball and threw it in the air, calling out Ambipom.

"Ambipom, Spotlight!" she called forth. Ambipom materialized out of the ball and started hopping around, all the while chanting her name repeatedly. "Ambipom, get ready for a tough battle!" Dawn told her. Ambipom stopped hopping, took a good look at her opponent—Empoleon—and replaced her goofy smile with a determined one.

"Ambipom!" she cried, getting into a battling stance. Dawn smiled at her and prepared herself.

"Alright, Ambipom! Use Double Team!" Dawn ordered, watching as her monkey Pokémon made multiple copies of herself around Empoleon, confusing the emperor Pokémon.

"Empoleon, try to hit the right one with Brick Break!" Darach yelled, getting a little worried at how Dawn got in defense so quickly instead of a straight-forward attack like with Piplup. Empoleon complied and hit the nearest one, which was obviously not the real one. It kept going, hitting multiple ones; all illusions. Dawn watched as Empoleon kept on attacking. Soon, there were only a few left, so she decided to start her plan.

"Ambipom, use Focus Punch now!" she ordered. Empoleon had just finished making an illusion fade away with it's Brick Break, not noticing that it hit the one that was nearest Ambipom; making itself an easy target for her Focus Punch to deliver. Empoleon reared back in pain as the Fighting-type move made contact, causing great damage.

"Empoleon, get yourself together and use Knock Off!" Darach yelled to Empoleon, who started to run towards Ambipom, getting it's attack ready.

"Ambipom, dodge and use Double Hit!" Dawn called out. Ambipom managed to barely get away from Empoleon's attack and used one tail to smack it in the face, and the other to knock it down from the back. After lifting her tails away from the fallen Pokémon, the ref decided on the winner for the round.

"Empoleon is unable to battle! Round 2 goes to Ambipom!" he announced once again, pointing towards Dawn's side as Darach returned his Empoleon.

"Alright, you did it Ambipom!" Dawn cheered for her Pokémon. Ambipom happily cheered back as Ash and Pikachu were doing the same.

"Alright! That was awesome, Dawn!" Ash said before turning to his former Pokémon; "You did great out there, girl!". Ambipom was very happy of her praises and hugged Ash, causing him to laugh at her enthusiastic spirit. "Wow, Dawn, you knocked out two of his Pokémon already! I can't wait to see the last round of the match." he told her, causing Dawn to blush slightly, being shy of all the attention she was getting from her crush.

"Thanks, Ash," she told him, causing him to smile at her and they stood there for a few seconds, enjoying each other's company; "Well, I gotta go back for the next round." she told him and took out Ambipom's Pokéball, recalling her before whispering to it silently, "You did great out there, have a long needed rest." She then walked back to the field, preparing for Darach to start.

"Now, for my last Pokémon," Darach started. He took out his last Pokéball and threw it nonchalantly. Coming out of the ball was none other than a Houndoom. Houndoom was a hellhound Pokémon that consisted of two types; Fire and Dark. Houndoom had two white bands at each of it's ankles as well as three bands on it's back. It had a long, skinny tail that ended in an arrow-head. It appeared to have a collar with a small skull attached to it and a pair of curled horns on it's head. It let out a bone-chilling howl that made Dawn's skin crawl. She tried not to show any weakness to it, and brought out her next available Pokémon to battle; Buneary.

"Buneary, Spotlight!" she called out as she threw the ball into the air, bringing forth Buneary for a second time that battle. Buneary seemed to have recharged, as she was bouncing up and down while punching air like a boxer waiting to kick some butt.

"Ready? Battle... Start!" the ref called to start the battle.

"Houndoom, get in there and use Fire Fang," Darach ordered. Houndoom started running towards Buneary, baring it's fangs while they start to engulfed in a fiery inferno and clamped them down on Buneary's arm, causing the poor bunny to cry out in pain.

"Oh no, Buneary! Quick, use Dizzy Punch!" Dawn started to panic as Buneary might not have as much energy as she initially thought. Buneary started randomly throwing punches at Houndoom, but they all missed as Houndoom lifted her and threw her across the room, making her land on the ground harshly. She tried to stand up, but fell back as it was unbearable and fainted.

"Buneary is unable to battle. Houndoom is the winner!" the ref called out again. Dawn ran to pick up her fallen Pokémon and returned her to her ball, thanking her for trying hard, and went back to her place, ready for the next battle. She pulled out her last Pokéball and threw it, sending out Ambipom. Ambipom put up a serious expression; clearly not happy with the way Darach's Pokémon are beating on her friends and team mates.

"Battle... Start!" the referee called to start off the last battle for Dawn that day. She immediately ordered a Swift attack on Houndoom, catching it off guard and hitting it dead on, but wasn't enough to create great damage on it.

"Grab one of its tails with Crunch, Houndoom!" Darach commanded. Houndoom did as told and Crunched Ambipom's tail, causing the happy monkey Pokémon's health to decrease some more.

"Ambipom!" Dawn cried out in worry as her Pokémon was struggling against the hellhound. _'...At this rate, we'll lose for sure...'_ she thought, watching Ambipom try her best in shaking off Houndoom's grasp on her tail. Suddenly, an idea popped in her mind; "Ambipom, wrap your tails around Houndoom!"

Ambipom did as instructed and wrapped both tails around Houndoom's neck, turning it into a death grip. Houndoom was startled by this turn of events and started flailing around frantically, trying to set itself loose. Ambipom's grip only tightened the more the hound struggled.

"Now, Ambipom! Use Focus Punch!" she ordered. Ambipom's fists at the ends of her tails started glowing white and she started concentrating; her focus not being broken on the advantage that Houndoom couldn't attack in its situation. After she finished focusing her engergy into her fist, she briefly let go of Houndoom's neck, but quickly punched it at the top of it's head. Houndoom stood there for a moment before slumping to the ground, unconscious.

"Houndoom is unable to battle! Ambipom wins and therefor Dawn is the winner!" the referee called, raising both flags in Dawn's favor, indicating that she won.

"...I did it?" she uttered out in shock before breaking out in a large grin and opened her arms for her tired Pokémon to fall in, exhausted of the heated battle with the demon dog. She gave Ambipom a quick hug and returned her into the Pokéball, giving her rest. After she put her ball away, she started hopping in glee; "I did it! Oh my gosh! I actually did it!"

"I knew you could do it," a voice called out behind her. She stopped hopping and turned around to see Ash—with Pikachu on his shoulder—with a proud smile plastered on his face. Dawn only smiled back and pounced him with a big hug, causing Ash to blush uncontrollably. Dawn finally let go after a small cough interrupted her loving embrace with the boy she loved. She immediately blushed and turned around to see Darach standing there with an amused smile.

"Dawn, for your amazing victory against me, I would like to award you with the Battle Castle's Commemorative Seal. May I please see your Battle Recorder?" he asked. Dawn was curious as to why he needed her Recorder, but complied and brought out her Battle Recorder before handing it over to Darach. He then brought out a small card, inserted it into the Recorder, took it out, and handed back to Dawn, who was still dumbfounded by the small transaction.

"Um..." she muttered, still confused at what happened. She started, slowly, to turn it on and checked it before understanding dawned on her. She looked up at Darach with a surprised expression and he nodded; "Really?!" she asked with joy. She looked back at her Recorder and thanked him before turning back to Ash, who was just as—if not, more—confused than Dawn was earlier. Dawn showed him the screen on the Recorder where it showed the seals obtained all over the frontier; it showed a small colorful seal with a small picture of the Battle Castle on it.

"Oh, wow, Dawn!" he exclaimed before raising his hand to welcome a high-five from her—which she gladly returned. He then turned to Darach; "So, I get to battle you tomorrow, right?" he asked.

Darach nodded in agreement before adding, "But if you want to battle me first, I advise you to come here early in the morning or else someone else might beat you to the punch," he said. "But, I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. Just make sure to get here early enough if you _really_ want to battle sooner than later." he added before turning and going back through the passageway under the stand. Ash noticed something different.

"Hey, where's Lady Caitlin?" he asked Dawn. She looked up at where the Lady was sitting previously and wondered the same thing; where was the Lady?

"Hello, Dawn,"

Dawn turned around at the source of the voice and there was Lady Caitling, looking as frail as before.

"Lady?" Dawn asked, confused as to why the Lady was addressing her first hand.

"I'd like to congratulate you on your stupendous win against my wonderful butler; Darach," she said. She then held out a pale, slender hand to Dawn. Dawn only stared for a few seconds before wrapping her hand around Caitlin's. They shook them and a voice called out to the Lady and she flinched a bit; "Coming, Darach! Well, Dawn, I'll see you later." she finished before turning and scurrying out of the room. Dawn stood there for a while and a small smile graced her lips.

"Yeah, I'll see you, too."

* * *

"What was that about?"

Ash and Dawn were currently walking around the area, heading to the Pokémon Center to sleep for the night for the following day's battle for Ash. Dawn's Pokémon were already healed , complimentary of Battle Castle own restoration machine. Piplup was slightly sulking on Dawn's head while Pikachu was on Ash's. They were all checking out the shops and the scenery while eating ice cream that Ash bought; they haven't eaten all day and were starving.

"Huh?" she asked with a curious expression.

"You know, with that Lady Caitlin. What was that about?" he repeated, reminding her of the event that occurred after receiving the seal from Darach. Dawn pondered for a moment before shrugging.

"I don't know. Maybe she does that with every challenger..." she trailed off, not noticing that Ash was in deep thought. He then snapped his fingers as an idea popped up.

"Maybe she looks up to you?" Dawn turned her head to see that Ash was looking at her with an understanding look. She thought about this for a while before shaking her head in denial.

"Why would she look up to me?" she responded with her own question. Ash thought for a moment before answering.

"Maybe by your passion for battling?" he asked again; "After all, she isn't allowed to battle on her own. I think she envies you." he finished.

Dawn finally understood what Ash was telling her. Having to sit on the sidelines all the time must have made Caitlin feel left out. Watching as your Pokémon were being controlled by another trainer and battled with another trainer; no wonder she was feeling left out and lonely.

"Thanks, Ash. I understand now." she flashed him a warm smile and giggled, noticing that he had ice cream on his nose. Ash only stared back in bewilderment, not noticing the piece of dairy treat smeared on his face. Dawn wiped it off with her finger and licked it clean, enjoying the tiny and sweet taste. Ash laughed and turned a bit red, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. They continued the peaceful walk together, talking about Pokémon, battles—even contests—while the orange blur of the sunset slowly turned into a nighttime shade of blue, telling our favorite couple that the hours of sleep was creeping up on them. They resided to their room, falling asleep and awaiting the morning to come.

* * *

**A/N: FINALLY DONE. Hope you all enjoyed. After reading this over, I never knew how much my writing changed, even a little. You see, I had all this chapter already written out, but no real ending for it. I wrote the ending part today, but I think it's a bit different from the rest... I don't really know. I think I should rewrite the whole story... but I'm too lazy. Typical me. I'll just leave it as is then. **

**Remember, REVIEWS are welcomed. I always love feedback and criticism (no flames!) **

_Patori-chan _


	6. Even MORE Waiting!

**A/N:** Sorry for the long await of this chapter, but make sure to check the author's note at the bottom for more info...I guess. D:

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**Chapter 6**

**Even MORE Waiting?**

"Good morning!"

Ash cracked open an eye. He was still sleepy and tired from all the sightseeing he went through the day before. Even pikachu was still sleeping through the wake-up call.

"…Ugh…Dawn…it's ten in the A.M! Why do we have to wake up so early…?" he asked groggily. Just as he finished his sentence, his head fell back onto his inviting pillow and started snoozing again.

"Well then, Ash, I guess you don't want to get your seal now, do you?" she queried. She smirked as Ash bolted up from his bed in alarm. He immediately jumped out of bed and pulled his pants and sweater on, slipped into his running shoes, jammed his cap onto his head, and quickly picked up pikachu, who was still curled up, asleep.

"Why didn't you wake me up earlier?" he yelled as he grabbed hold of Dawn's hand subconsciously and started to pull her along. She halted to a stop before they reached the door and yanked her hand away, glaring back at him.

"Well, excuse me mister 'I-like-to-sleep-in'! I DID try to wake you up, but all you said, and I quote—" she put up her fingers in a quotation gesture "—was, 'Five more minutes, mom…' and you waved me away as if it was nothing!" she yelled back. She then softened up and tilted her head down, whispering, "…Besides, you looked...cute and relaxed sleeping the way you did; I couldn't wake you up…"

Ash's cheeks reddened a little, and he placed his hand behind his head bashfully, embarrassed.

"…R-really…?" he asked quietly. He looked up and saw her nodding slightly. He smiled; _'She looks very cute herself when she does that… Wait...what?' _He shook his head to rid of his thoughts and started marching out of the Pokémon Center, his face as red as tomato sauce.

"Huh? Ash, wait up!" Dawn called out before collecting her items and Poké Balls. She jogged faster, falling into step with him with Piplup behind her, confused by what happened.

After a while of walking, the pair and their Pokémon had reached the prestigious building. It was still early for trainers to come around, but they had a planned schedule. They entered the large castle and head to the receptionist to start the match.

"Whaddya mean 'somebody got here first'?" Ash exclaimed, frustrated. The woman smiled sadly.

"Well, a trainer requested a battle—in which the brain accepted—a few moments before you two showed up. They're about to partake in their battle right now, actually." Ash's face fell, and Dawn was in deep thought.

"Is it at least okay for us to watch the battle? I mean, as an audience," Dawn asked. The woman smiled again and nodded, opening the small gate to let them through.

"Right this way!" She led them to the field they were in the day before, showing them the way to the same seats Ash and Pikachu sat in. Dawn searched the field, hoping to spot the challenger, only to freeze in place as her eyes met the cool gaze of a person they haven't spoken to since the Pokémon League finals—Paul.

"Is... is that Paul?" Dawn gasped. Ash followed her line of sight and frowned as he saw his former rival standing on the field with his ever-present scowl. Even after beating him in the League, Paul still kept his cruel and jerk-like personality. Dawn, however, was panicking a little. She remembers back when they first started traveling, she had harbored a minuscule crush on the cold boy. After many failed attempts at getting him to notice her, she realized that he wasn't meant to be her "number one" and gave up on him, her attention turning to her dark-haired traveling companion who made her stomach flip in many ways imaginable. But now...as he gave her his uncomfortable stare...she was starting to feel nervous.

"...Dawn? Hey, Daaaaaawn! Are you home?" Ash waved and hand in front of her face, snapping her out of deep thought. She only smiled at him and waved it off, giving her signature phrase, "No need to worry!" Ash still looked unsure, but accepted it anyway; he made it upon himself to ask her about it later.

"Can't believe Paul's here, huh?" Dawn asked nobody in particular. Ash nodded, realizing that it was because of Paul that his morning battle had been delayed. His frown deepened.

"He's still a cold, heartless jerk who only cares about his Pokémon's power..." he grumbled.

"Well... let's see how his battle turns out, okay?" Dawn persisted. '_Maybe he's changed at least a little bit...' _

Paul noticed Ash's presence, and his expression morphed into noticeable distaste. _'Scratch that last thought...' _Dawn thought, sweatdropping.

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**A/N:** Um... Sorry for this _extremely_ short chapter, but I wanted to upload SOMETHING after so many months of not touching this fic. I hope to continue writing this, as I still want to go through with the whole plot and such. Uh, also, I probably won't be updating any of my other fics for a while. Check my bio for more details about my writing Hiatus and why I haven't been writing as often. :X

_~Patori-san_


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